Set Fire To The Rain
by Caidyn
Summary: Draco's sixth year has been a failure... except for the fact that he has began dating, secretly of course, Ginny Weasley. The night has come where he must fulfill his mission. But, things go wrong. Will he be able to complete it?


The five stages of grief were denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Was it normal to go through all those stages multiple times per day? But what did a privileged pureblood have to be in grief over, especially if his name was Draco Malfoy? There were many things if you asked him; people dying to watching people be tortured to even his own fate. What is that you may ask, well… it's a mission that he is being forced to do. A mission to kill someone, that someone being Albus Dumbledore the greatest Headmaster that ever lived.

Draco breathed in and out, trying to gather himself up as he sat in the corridor by the Room of Requirements. He was so close. Tonight was the night that he was going to do it; thanks to Snape he knew that Dumbledore and Potter were going out doing something that took them from the castle. All he had to do was get the Death Eaters in. Once he got that done, he wasn't going to be fearful of someone coming up and killing him. He breathed in and out as he sat there, trying to keep himself calm.

The only thing that was keeping him with a cool head these days was one red head that would be disapproved of if people found out. Since close to Christmas time, about when Katie Bell had gotten hurt by his necklace, he had been seeing Ginny Weasley the fiery little ginger. The Weasley was strong willed, kind but knew when to be harsh. Before this year he had no idea that she was anything other than a Weasley. All he had known had been what he had seen in the hallways or in passing.

Draco leaned his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. Even though they had been together now for over six months he hadn't told her about what he had to do. Ginny could barely handle his mood swings at times because of how violent and unexplainable they were. That was the only thing he felt guilty over; not having to pretend to be with Pansy. Mostly he wasn't guilty over that since she had been with Dean Thomas and with Potter to cover it up. He knew that Potter was because she actually had feelings for him though.

Slowly he stood up from the ground when he heard footsteps heading his way. There was Ginny with a smile on her face. When she had reached him, she put a hand on his cheek and pressed a light kiss to his lips. "Hello," she murmured to him before pressing her lips against his again. They were plump to the just right degree. After she pulled away he licked his lips just to taste her sweetness. She tasted like sugar cookies that were baked to perfection, which was the only word to describe her if someone asked him. "So what did you want me to come down here for? You said that it's urgent."

Draco swallowed hard as he looked at her. "Yes, it's really important. I've been putting off telling you for a long time because I just didn't know how to." Ginny's delicate eyebrow raised which made her hazel eyes pop out in a magnificent way. They sparkled in the dim lighting the hallway provided.

"What is it Draco," she asked in a cautious tone.

"Tonight I'm going to go down in history books." Before he could get anything more out a loud laugh from the ginger punctuated the air. She patted his cheek with a grin on her face.

"Of course you're going to be famous," she said in a mock serious voice.

"I'm not kidding around. Please be serious."

"I am being serious!- or at least as serious as I can be about this. You're not going down in the history bo—"

"Yes I am Ginerva!" That got her to shut it; Draco rarely used her real name unless he wanted to get her upset. "Tonight I'm doing something that's going to keep me alive as well as gets me down in the history books. It's going to bring honor to my family again."

"What are you going to do," asked a soft, almost childish voice. Ginny's eyes had widened as she looked at Draco apprehensively.

"I'm going to kill Dumbledore."

He watched as her face turned pink, and then red, and finally settled to a ghostly white. "What," she asked quietly. "Why are you going to kill him? He's a bloody old man and he never did anything to you!" Her eyes were sharp and didn't make him want to speak at that moment.

"If I don't do this… I'll be killed." Ginny's mouth dropped a little bit. "Please stay in your common room tonight," he plead softly, "I don't want anything to happen to you."

Ginny scoffed and set her jaw. "I'll do whatever I want. Now I need time alone so I can figure out if I believe you or not. Good night." Her voice was stone cold, meaning that she wasn't happy with him. Then, hidden deep down, there was a glimmer of fear that anyone who had been told that should have. She turned away, her waist length red hair whipping around behind her as she walked away from him.

Draco stood there in some kind of shock. At least she would be, hopefully, in her room tonight. That way he would know that she was safe rather than up and about. There was no way of knowing how tonight would go. He didn't even have a clue on if he was going to be able to do the deed. No. He _had _to do it. He wasn't about to let himself get killed. "Mr. Malfoy, I suggest that you stop worrying about your little girl problems and start worrying about the big picture," hissed a voice that could only belong to Professor Snape.

"I am worrying. And I'm getting to what I need to do," Draco tensely replied. He looked up at the hook nosed man.

"Then do it! Don't just stand there looking completely daft. Do something." For a long moment there was nothing before a doorway appeared at a blank wall. "At least you have a little common sense. I'll stay out here while you get them."

Draco entered the crowded room and walked straight back towards the cabinet that was his. He pulled out a piece of parchment paper that read, _We are ready. Come through,_ written on it. As he opened the door and closed it he breathed in and out deeply. All at once he hoped for Ginny to show up and stop him, for Ginny to stay in her room, for this plan not to work, and for this plan to work. In the end it would truly come all down to him.

Before him the door creaked open and a woman with dark hair came out followed by a number of other people. "Draco you did it," she said softly, her sparkly black eyes, darting around frantically as she took it in. "You're mother and father are going to be very, very proud of you." She grinned before rushing off, laughing as if she was a little girl. That was his aunt, though. Bellatrix had been like that since he could remember and it had apparently gotten worse because of Azkaban.

There were mumbles of thanks and good jobs as the Death Eaters filed past him. After the people were past and off doing their thing in the castle, most of which involved terrorizing people who were out and about. Draco left the room and saw that Snape was still there. "Now go and do your job before anything more can happen," Snape ordered. Draco stared at the man for a moment before rushing off to do as he was told to do.

It was a somewhat fast trip up to the Astronomy tower, which was where he expected they would go since Bellatrix had run off to put a Dark Mark above the school. As he walked up the steps he heard soft whispers from one man to the next, although when he got up there he and the old man were the ones alone. "Who were you talking to," he asked quickly, fumbling to pull out his wand. Beneath his chest he could feel his heart racing, pounding out that fast rhythm to keep up with how fast he was breathing.

"I was just talking to myself, Mr. Malfoy. Now… are you to kill me?"

How did the man know? Sure, he knew most of what was going on in the school at a given moment but how did he know about the mission? He knew full well that Snape was the only Death Eater who spied on the Order. "I have to kill you." When he had spoken, his voice had cracked involuntarily. "I have to kill you or he'll kill me."

Dumbledore nodded as he seemingly took it in. Draco wanted to ask how he could be so calm about knowing his fate and how knowing a student of his was going to take it from him. He couldn't imagine acting like nothing was going on. "Are you going to kill me, Draco? _Can_ you even kill me?" The words were soft, yet punctuated the air like they were the loudest scream he had ever heard.

"I have to kill you!"

"But that doesn't mean you are capable of doing this; having to do something means nothing if you chose not to do it. The resistance, which I'm sure you know about, will be able to help you better than I. We can keep you safe and get you help."

"No one can save me!" Perhaps Ginny, though. She had the power to do anything if she so chose it, just as Dumbledore had just said. "And I _will_ do this. I was just about to."

"If you were going to do it, you would have done it already." Draco opened his mouth to make a remark when there were fast footsteps leading up the stairs. Fenrir Greyback stepped into the frame of the doorway, blocking it for the most part. Over his shoulder peeked Bellatrix, her eyes glittering at Dumbledore with malice playing in them.

"I have a little present for you," she crooned as she pushed Greyback out of her way. Behind her she was dragging Ginny by her beautiful flame colored hair. He knew that he must have paled considerably by the laugh that burst out of Bellatrix. In a swift move she pulled Ginny in front of her as well as pulling out her wand to press against the younger witch's cheek. "The Dark Lord found out about your little woman over here. He told me to tell you that _you _must kill the old man or I will kill her in front of you. How does that sound to you girly?"

"Don't do it Draco! Don't kill him," Ginny cried out, sounding somewhat hysterical. Bellatrix laughed a short staccato laugh and looked at Draco over Ginny's shoulder.

"Don't do it Draco. Don't kill him," she mocked cruelly, "I doubt that you want her killed, do you? Now do it or I'll either kill her myself or give her to Greyback. He's been dying for some young flesh." Bellatrix turned her face towards Ginny and pressed her lips to her cheek, her lips parting as a chilling laugh slipped out. "Sweet; Fenrir'll like her." Draco felt a shudder of fear run through him. Kill Dumbledore or Ginny would be killed.

Could he do it? Could he take one like and spare another? Deep down he knew the answer to it, but looking at Ginny just made him want to change his mind and try to do it. He closed his eyes and felt his raised hand begin to shake ever so slightly. When he opened his eyes, he focused in on Ginny while everyone waited on him to either do it, or don't do it. As he looked at her he couldn't help but remember how they got together.

~Flashback~

It was over. He couldn't do it; there was no way in hell that this was going to come true. He knew it, Snape knew it, and the Dark Lord had to know it. Everyone who was expecting him to succeed was going to be wrong by a long shot. Killing someone wasn't going to be as easy as he had thought it would be in the first place. He had thought that he would only have to send one thing, it would get there, and the man would fall down dead. Now, he was seeing that he might actually have to do this face to face since the plan that had involved Katie Bell had fallen through.

Draco had been there and seen it all; he had watched as that small girl had flown up in the air and screamed in an eerie sounding tone. Before today he hadn't even known that a noise like that could be made by a human yet sound so utterly inhuman at the same time. Seeing her be in an extreme amount of pain that he couldn't even begin to comprehend let him know that he couldn't let anyone else be the carrier of something with that power unless it was him. The deed was done with poisoning the mead and giving it to someone else to give to Dumbledore without them knowing it.

Katie Bell hadn't done anything to deserve that. The only reason she had gotten hurt was because of her stupid friend trying to take it from her. But Draco couldn't just blame them; he had to blame himself as well. Draco had stumbled into the library to hide out somewhere that no one would see or find him. So far so good. His whole body was quivering in fear and dread of the next failure. By this time the Dark Lord would have to have heard of it. This would mean he'd be more expected to fail than before.

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Draco's fingers clawed at his hair as if it was a diseased part of him that would bring him down. His voice echoed around him as well as a noise of a chair screeching against the floor as it was thrown backwards by the person who was sitting in it. "I can't do this. I can't do this." Under his breath he chanted those four words as if they would give him a type of strength. The only thing it did was make him feel more crazed with the fear of death looming over his shoulder. As he was shaking and shuddering someone must have walked up to him.

"Malfoy? What the hell are you doing?" The voice full of confusion filled him up for a moment. Draco had to try to snap out of it. Draco lowered his hands from his face to see the brilliant blazing red hair that could only belong to a Weasley. Since it wasn't short it was Ginny Weasley there and watching him have some kind of break down.

Quickly he stood up and straightened himself out. "I'm doing nothing? Why don't you get your nosey self out of my way?" Her eyebrow rose as she looked at him.

"I'm not stupid, Malfoy. I can tell when there's something wrong. I'm not as stupid as my brother." Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"If you were as daft as Weasel-be the world would be a scarier place. Two gingers running around like numpties? That's just a thought I don't want to imagine." His voice was sarcastic as it usually got when he was speaking to someone in a joking manner. It felt as if it had been ages since he had been able to do something like this with anyone. Draco fake shuddered as Ginny reached a hand out and slapped him his arm. "Ow." He rubbed his arm lightly.

"Haha, very funny; you're still talking about my family and I will defend them until I die or until I'm incapable of doing even that." Ginny's hair seemed to light more on fire with the look she was giving him. The thought crossed Draco's mind that she could be an excellent mother when she got older. Already she had that look down that any good mother had down. "Done staring at me yet," she asked. Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. "And what was that earlier? You screamed, which got me distracted from studying so I don't fail me O.."

Draco took a deep breath in and out; the moment had seemed so real, so raw, that it had been easy to buy into. There had been obviously another motive to it. "I was stressing over homework. My father's making me take all the N.E.W.T classes that I qualified for." That was a pretty decent lie… alright half lie. He had tried.

A frown came across Ginny's face. "And how many did you get into?"

"Practically all of them."

There was a small wince that showed up on Ginny's face. "That _really _sucks. How're you doing with the homework?"

"Horrid. I have so much that it's not even something to joke about anymore. There's absolutely no free time for myself and if I want any I have to make it happen." Another partial truth; instead of homework all his free time was eaten up by the attempt on figuring out how to work the twin Vanishing Cabinets. So far it wasn't going well.

Again Ginny winced sympathetically. "That really sucks. Well… this is just a suggestion, but why don't we do homework together? I know my brother hates you but I really don't. I just follow what they really were saying. I mean, you can be an arse but… I can tell you've changed. How, I dunno, but you just have." A light pink tone lit up her cheeks as she quit her rambling. Draco couldn't help but find it a little bit cute.

"Uhm… sure? Why not? Tomorrow night? After dinner?" Ginny have him a short nod that signaled a yes for an answer. Draco smiled a little bit at her. With short good-byes they departed which consisted of Ginny leaving while he stood there feeling a bit stupid.

These days Ginny was the talk of the school with how many guys she had been dating off and on for a lot the year. Even he couldn't help but be slightly amazed by it. And now he was going to be able to have a small chance.

~*End Flashback*~

"Make your choice Draco. Now or I'll do it." The silent shriek that Bellatrix made pulled him away from that wonderful memory of how it all started. Could he do it? The answer had been there all along; from the beginning to now.

"I've made my decision," he said in a slightly wavering voice. It felt like the whole room took a breath in as they waited to hear what he had to say. "I can't do it. I can't do it." Bellatrix's harsh laugh sounded throughout the room.

"Apparently I'm going to do it anyways." The woman looked at the red-headed girl she was still holding onto. Ginny looked fearful; all the blood had drained from her face leaving her a deathly white. Ha… deathly. Why he said that he wasn't too sure. He couldn't find that funny at all.

Ginny's hazel eyes drifted over to look over at him. There was fear, penetratingly deep fear in them. Draco looked around the room crazily for someone to help; Dumbledore's eyes were on the ground since he knew he couldn't do anything, most of the Death Eater's were watching gleefully, Bellatrix was shoving Ginny around, and Snape was acting like he was watching. No one could help. She _was _going to die.

Her stare was her last. Each breath she was taking tapered down. Every beat of her heart was coming close to the end. Ginny was at her close, her end. Draco could only gaze at her and hope that someone would come up. There was no way that he could do something because he knew they'd kill him in an instant. All he could do was stand there and look onto the scene.

Bellatrix yanked up on Ginny's hair so her chin was pointed up more as well as more exposure of her neck. The woman's wand traced the pastel skin softly as if it was his lips caressing that same soft skin. He couldn't close his eyes. Not while Bellatrix was placing the wand against her collar bone and not while she said the deadly spell.

It all happened in slow motion from there. Ginny fell, her hair flaming out around her. She looked like an angel falling just as Lucifer had. When she hit the ground there was a deathly silence. Her eyes were wide and staring up at the dark ceiling. The light was fading while the fear that still poured off of her flowed through the room at an incredible rate.

Snape had moved towards Dumbledore by a little bit, wand raised. "Advada Kedavra." Draco couldn't help but flinch as fear ran through him yet again. The man that he had been intended to kill originally fell. At last his eyes closed. A rough hand grabbed him and he was pulled towards the exit.

Longingly he looked back, desperate to see Ginny one last time. Someone had moved, seemingly from nowhere, to sit next to her. She was pulled up onto his lap with an arm dangling limply by her side. A hand was running through her soft hair that always smelled like strawberries. Draco could tell from the black hair that was sticking out that it was Potter who was with her. Not for the first time he was jealous of him as he was pulled from the room.

_It burned while I cried 'cause I heard it screaming out your name._

**A.N.**

**I finally got up something new! Hooray! I hope that all of you who read this enjoy it. Again I'd like to thank Miss Lainey for reading this before I published this. I wrote this for a friend, not gonna say her name. Hope she enjoys it when she sees it. Please remember to review!**


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